It’s hard to believe, with all the snow we’ve gotten here in the Northeast, that spring training is just a few weeks away. As a fan of the New York Yankees, this hasn’t been the best of off-seasons, so I would like nothing more than to fast-forward to mid-February to see how the team is going to answer all of the questions that haunt them right now.

Before we get to February though, here is the first of a series of posts regarding the direction of the Yankees, both on the field and off of it. I will pose questions that need to be answered before the season begins, beginning with what I believe to be the most important question that still needs to be addressed.

Whenever New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter speaks, it’s rare that he allows much to be known. Jeter likes to keep his true thoughts to himself, always has.

Earlier this week, Jeter held a press conference prior to the first day that position players were obligated to be in Tampa for spring training. While most of what he said to the media was the usual vanilla, uncontroversial stuff he’s stuck to for 15 years, there appeared to be some interesting material tucked in-between the boring run-of-the-mill quotes many are used to reading.

What follows is my attempt to deconstruct some of Jeter’s quotes to provide a better understanding of the deeper meaning behind his carefully-crafted answers to questions from the media. Quotes by Derek Jeter were found in various published reports.

With the Baseball Winter Meetings set to open on Monday in Indianapolis, expect the rumors to fly, and figure the Yankees to be garnering headlines.

In fact, some stories have already come out, with predictions that the Yankees will reduce their payroll for the 2010 season. Of course, like last year, the public pronouncements about slashing payroll could be nothing more than a smokescreen, something that Yankees general manager Brian Cashman is adept at concocting.

Remember when Cashman declared that the Yankees were comfortable with Bubba Crosby starting in CF in the offseason following the 2005 regular season? Then the Yankees swooped in and signed Johnny Damon when no one expected it.

Last year, history repeated itself when Mark Teixeira, who seemed headed to Boston, signed with the Yankees, and then revealed at his press conference the Yankees had been trying to get him from the start of the offseason.

This year’s cloak and dagger act may be all about securing the best starting pitcher on the market. Reading between the lines, one gets the sense that John Lackey will be in Pinstripes come April.

Because the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have made it to the postseason nearly every year this decade, it’s easy to forget that these teams have not had much success in October in recent seasons. The Yankees’ ALDS sweep of the Minnesota Twins earned them a berth in the ALCS for the first time since 2004. The Angels advanced to the ALCS for the first time since 2005.

The Angels have had the Yankees’ number since Mike Scioscia became their manager. As great as the Yankees’ roster is this season, the Angels’ success over them in October casts a shadow of doubt over the Yankees’ chances to move on to the World Series.

The Yankees are back in the playoffs after finishing 3rd in the AL East last season. The hottest team in baseball may be the Minnesota Twins, winners of 17 of their last 21, including an extra game in extra innings. Do they have enough talent to match their momentum?

The Red Sox seek their third World Series title in six seasons, but can they get past the Angels, who are talented and inspired by the loss of Nick Adenhart?

With apologies to the other sports, there’s nothing better than the baseball postseason. Here now, is a quick look at each Division Series, with some predictions.

I’ve been vacationing near Narragansett, RI for a few days now, and loving it. I don’t want to leave. Maybe, somewhere in my mind, I never will.

Even on vacation though, my mind wanders and I need to jot things down, or else they’ll vanish forever.

OMG! Reading is fundamental!

–Today, on the beach, I noticed a young woman was reading LA Candy, the novel from Lauren Conrad, who, like Kim Kardashian, Paris Hilton, Perez Hilton, and loads of other people out there, is famous without doing anything of substance.

This woman at the beach was maybe in her early 20s. She had a belly ring, a tramp stamp, and was on some mobile device a half-dozen times. She was on a blanket right near us. Walking to and from the water with a bucket full of water for my kids 50 or so times, I had little choice but to notice.

I have no idea who this young woman is, whether or not she’s smart, or has a good job (she’s on the beach on a Tuesday…with her friends…anything’s possible I guess…), or is having one last hurrah before going back to school.

But, if I were single and 10 years younger let’s say, based on outward appearacnes, I’d look the other way. I’d be a little jealous though. It would be nice to have an uncluttered, empty mind, I guess.

I will say this, though. It is nice to see that Lauren Conrad, like Dan Brown and countless other best-selling authors, is helping her fans rediscover literacy. Good for her.

Derek Jeter’s inevitable march to Cooperstown began in 2005, when Jeter completed his 10th major league season. Since then, it has only intensified as he approaches some of the no-brainer plateaus that make his eventual election to the Baseball Hall of Fame a fait accompli.

I didn’t watch Friday night’s game between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. I was at a minor league ballgame with my son, and we had the opportunity to camp out in the outfield afterward; we weren’t going to pass that up.

On Saturday morning, while I was packing up my tent, someone asked me if I had heard what happened in the game. I told him no, and he filled me in. It sounded like a great game, and it got me thinking.

With the Major League Baseball non-waiver trade deadline less than 24 hours away, here are some predictions about which AL East players and teams could be impacted by 4 p.m. on July 31.

The Orioles today already made the expected move of trading George Sherrill to the National League—the Dodgers, specifically—for prospects Josh Bell and Steve Johnson, but let’s look at the other deadline action that could go down.